Tesla Cybertruck Tug-Of-War Vs. Ford F-150 Was Completely Pointless

It's all about physics, weight, calculations and some math.

Eric Loveday

By: Eric Loveday

Nov 29, 2019 at 5:20pm ET

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The folks over at Engineering Explained on YouTube take us for a deep dive into the hot topic of the Tesla Cybertruck out towing the Ford F-150. This stunt garnered much attention at the debut of the Cybertruck and even more in the days that followed.

Following the debut of the Cybertruck, Elon Musk posted this video tweet:

The video shows that, when the rope between the pickup trucks is tight enough, both begin to pull. And that the Cybertruck manages to drag a wheel-spinning Ford F-150 with no apparent effort. In fact, it makes it seem like it is pretty easy.

The event was not without controversy though. There have been plenty of people pointing out that they think the video of the Tesla Cybertruck outclassing the Ford F-150 in a tow battle was unfair. Tesla didn't provide any details, but it appears the F-150 was rear-wheel drive. In addition, it seems like the Cybertruck got a head start.

What do you think?

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We'll leave it to detail-oriented Engineering Explained to explain what really went down and to tell us all why the whole tug-of-war event was both meaningless and pointless. On the flip side, this video showing a Tesla Cybertruck beating a Ford F-450 Super Duty in tug-of-war has a point: humor.

Video description via Engineering Explained on YouTube:

Here's Why Tesla Cybertruck Towing A Ford F-150 Is Meaningless

A tale of physics, electric trucks, and why tug of war doesn't matter.

During the Tesla Cybertruck reveal Elon Musk showed the world that the Cybertruck can pull a Ford F-150, uphill! At initial glance, you might think wow, that's an impressive feat. Surely the Tesla's electric torque helps it rip the F-150 in this battle of "who's got the bigger driveshaft?" Unfortunately, physics informs us these kind of demonstrations are entirely pointless.

We'll discuss the actual wheel torque of the Tesla Cybertruck as well as the Ford F-150, we'll look into both vehicles weights, and we'll analyze the video to determine if the Ford is RWD or 4WD. Ultimately, we'll all land on the conclusion that everything we witnessed was pointless. That's the story of life